Lillian Hill McGuire

Deacon Lillian Hill McGuire surrendered to God’s will and, peacefully, entered into eternal rest, in her home in Tappahannock, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. She was a gentle, kind spirit - loved and respected by many individuals. She was a pillar of the Essex County Community.

She was a retired educator of the Essex County School System – after thirty-six years of teaching, a Historian of the First Baptist Church Tappahannock and the Southside Rappahannock Baptist Association, and was a charter member of the Board of Directors of the Essex County Museum and Historical Society.

She was a recipient of the Essex County Museum’s History Preservation Award, cited by Who’s Who in America, and was the author of five books including her signature book “Uprooted and Transplanted: From Africa to America: Focus on African-Americans in Essex County, Virginia: Oppressions-Achievements-Contributions: The 1600s-1900s.

She was a member of the First Baptist Church Tappahannock, where, in 2018, she was among the first eight female deacons to be ordained in the 151-year history of the church, by Rev. Cornelius R. Holmes.

Lillian is survived by two devoted and loving daughters, Brenda McGuire Randolph and her husband Gregory, of Glen Allen, Virginia, and Gina R. McGuire of Tappahannock, Virginia. She also leaves a devoted and loving bonus daughter, Laura Fortune Battle, and her children and grandson, whom they affectionately called “Mom Lillian”, Roman “Nick Battle, Crystal N. Battle and Landon Ingram, of Richmond, Virginia. Also surviving her is a devoted and loving brother and sister-in-law, Howard Garfield Hill, Jr., and his wife Barbara, of Baltimore, Maryland, a sister-in-law, Edna McGuire also of Baltimore, Maryland, and a host of loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

The viewing will be held on Friday, May 10 from 4-8 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 401 Marsh St., Tappahannock. The viewing will continue on Saturday, March 11 from 9 - 11 a.m.in the auditorium of Essex High School, 833 High School Circle, Tappahannock. The funeral service will immediately follow at 11 a.m. The interment will be in the First Baptist Church cemetery.

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